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Kinka Lucky
December 1936. }} The Lucky (ラッキー) or Kinka Lucky (錦華ラッキー) is a Japanese camera taking 3×4cm exposures on 127 film. It was released by Yamamoto Shashinki Kōsakusho in late 1935 and advertised until 1937. Dates: , p.335. The camera was featured in the new products column of the December 1935 issue of Asahi Camera. General description The Kinka Lucky is inspired from the Picny, itself copying the Gewirette by Wirgin. It has a rounded metal body and a telescopic tube supporting the lens and shutter assembly. The top plate supports the advance knob on the right end, a key to open the camera, a tubular optical finder slightly offset to the left and a round plate on the left end. The top plate is removed for film loading, like the Picny and in the same spirit as the bottom loading of the Leica screw models. Commercial life The Kinka Lucky was reportedly featured as a new product in the December 1935 issue of , and was advertised in the January 1936 issue of . , p.335. The camera is simply called "Lucky Camera" in the advertisement in July 1936, reproduced above. Advertisement in July 1936, p.A62, also reproduced in , p.102. It is the oldest document listed in , pp.335 and 343. Two versions are listed and pictured, with f/6.3 and f/4.5 lens, respectively priced at and . Both have a folding optical finder, whose front part is inscribed Lucky and folds above the rear one. The f/4.5 camera has a dial-set Elka shutter and an Anastigmat Trionar 50mm f/4.5 front-cell focusing lens, with serial number 371. The f/6.3 camera has a rim-set shutter and a Ceronar lens (see below for a description of the markings). The lens rim is fixed, and the telescopic tube is mounted on a focusing helical, with a distance scale at the base, graduated from ∞ to 1m. The camera was advertised again as the Kinka Lucky in the December 1936, January and April 1937 issues of , reproduced above. Advertisements in December 1936, p.A58, January 1937, p.A56, and April 1937, p.A65. That dated January 1937 is also reproduced in , p.67. On p.335, the same book mentions a further advertisement in the November 1936 issue of , but no such page appears in the copy owned by Camerapedia user Rebollo_fr. More details are given for the two versions: * Trionar Name inferred from the katakana トリオナー. f/4.5 lens, Elka shutter, ; * Ceronar f/6.3 lens, Valdar Name inferred from the katakana ヴァルダー. shutter, . Two different models of ever-ready cases are offered, at ¥4.50 and ¥2.00; the difference between the two is unknown. The picture only shows the f/6.3 model, which now has a tubular finder instead of the folding finder. Actual examples Only two surviving examples are known so far. Both are pictured in , and have a tubular finder. The f/6.3 example is similar to the camera pictured in the January 1937 advertisement. Example pictured in , item 3027. It has a focusing helical, and an everset shutter providing T, B, 100, 50, 25 speeds, selected by turning the rim. The lens name is written on the shutter plate, as on the Picny. It begins with ORIENTAL OPTICAL CERONAR and probably continues with the aperture and focal length. The words MADE BY Y.C.E.W. TOKYO are written underneath. Some of the initials certainly stand for Yamamoto, Camera and Works but the meaning of the "E" is unclear. The f/4.5 example is similar to that pictured in the July 1936 advertisement, except for the tubular finder. Example pictured in , item 3026. The base of the telescopic tube is plainly attached to the body by four screws. The lens is a front-cell focusing Anastigmat Trionar 50mm /4.5. The shutter is a dial-set Elka, marked ELKA on the speed setting wheel. The shutter plate has a TB logo on the right, and the aperture is set by an index at the bottom. The release lever is attached to the front of the shutter casing. There is a thread on the side for a cable release, and a hole under the lens for a thread and needle release device (a crude replacement for a self-timer). A third one has been found. https://www.flickr.com/photos/newmexico51/15284423779/ Notes Bibliography Original documents * . Advertisements by Yamamoto Shashinki Kōsakusho: ** July 1936, p.A62; ** December 1936, p.A58; ** January 1937, p.A56; ** April 1937, p.A65. Recent sources * Items 67 and 304. * Item 3026–7. Category: Japanese 3x4 viewfinder Category: K Category: 1935 Lucky, Kinka